Thursday, November 10, 2011

SM Entertainment representative Kim Young Min revealed the behind-the-scenes secrets of how girl group SNSD came to be.

SME representative Kim Young Min and SME’s Japanese special advisor Maruyama Shigeo guest-starred on a recent episode of FBS TV ‘Friday Super Prime‘ that aired in Japan. Representative Kim discussed the different reasons on why he felt K-pop has been so successful and the direction it needs to take in the future.

He first credited the K-pop stars’ success on their rigorous practice and training periods. He stated, “When a concept for the group is decided, the songs, dance, and languages that are fitting for the group are also selected and the members go into training immediately… Training periods vary, but they last anywhere from 3-5 years. In the case of TVXQ, they trained for seven years before they made their debut.”

He also garnered much attention from viewers by revealing that it took around $2.5 million USD to train and perfect each SNSD member before they debuted. 300,000 hopefuls audition for SME, and only 100 of them make it as trainees. It takes anywhere from $2.5 – $5 million USD to take care of them starting from the auditions, to the training, all the way to their debut.

Representative Kim remarked, “Our main priority at our agency is to find and discover new talents and to nurture them into artists.” He continued to inform that SME continues to hold auditions not just in Korea but also in countries such as Japan, China, and America.

“Personality and character training are also very important,” he explained. He stressed the importance of training artists to communicate well with elders and their own family members. This way when they suddenly rise to fame, they will not lose their sense of judgment and will not be so quick to make rash decisions that may harm them in the long run.

Representative Kim also credited the success of K-pop to thorough marketing research, as well as well-utilizing the newest media sources.